He turned and, without another word, left her in the darkness staring after him. She knew she would think about his kiss for days, and even as she made her way back to her room to go to bed, she wondered at the expression she had seen on his face. It was just a kiss, she thought. Why was he so disturbed?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Heart Is Deceitful
Gail looked up from the paper she had spread out on the kitchen table and interrupted Aaron, who was eating a piece of cherry pie. “You’ve got cherry syrup running all down your chin.”
“Have I?” Aaron mopped ineffectually at his chin with a napkin, and Gail shook her head.
“No. There’s some over here. It’s going to be running down your neck. Aaron, your eating is disgusting.”
The accusation seemed not to trouble Aaron. He had merely wiped the juice away with his napkin and stuffed another enormous bite into his mouth. “You shouldn’t cook so good,” he mumbled around the morsel.
“I declare. You’re messier than Wes, and that’s saying a lot!” She looked down at the paper and said, “There’s a story in here about prohibition.”
“What does it say?”
“This man says that the law against liquor is going to be harder to enforce than anyone thought.”
“I think he’s right,” Aaron said after swallowing another large bite of his pie. He reached over and picked up a large white mug and drank half a cup of coffee without stopping and then studied her as he said, “I’m surprised the states ratified the Eighteenth Amendment. People have been trying for years to get an amendment against alcohol.”
Gail looked across at Aaron and said, “I rejoiced when the amendment was passed.”
“I know you did, and so did almost everyone else. But I’m worried about some of the effects.”
“Why, it’ll mean that people won’t drink as much.”
“It may mean that some people won’t drink as much—but other people will drink more.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s the old story,” Aaron said. “Do you remember back at the high school when the administration passed a new rule that said no student could stand on top of the statue of Robert E. Lee?” He referred to a life-sized statue on the campus of Richmond High School, a large bronze piece that had become quite a symbol for the city.
“Yes, I remember that.”
“How many people got up on that horse with General Lee before the rule was passed?”
“Why, I never heard of anybody doing it.”
“That’s right. And how many times did students have to be expelled for getting on that horse after the rule was passed?”
Gail thought for a time and shook her head, puzzlement in her eyes. “Quite a few. I don’t remember how many.”
“There were dozens of them. Maybe hundreds. Some were caught and some weren’t. The old story of human nature, Gail. The forbidden fruit. You tell someone they can’t do something, and a certain number of people are going to do it even if they hadn’t intended to.”
“So you think this will cause some people to drink who wouldn’t have before?”
“We’ll have to wait and see, but the country is going into this new era of prohibition with a pretty lighthearted attitude. I’m afraid we’re going to see a problem of gigantic proportions.” Aaron leaned forward and locked his hands together and studied them for a time. “You realize that we’ve got eighteen thousand, seventeen hundred miles of coastline? Just think about how hard it will be to patrol all of that. The Coast Guard is pitifully small, and the navy can’t do it.”
“Are you saying that prohibition won’t work?”
“I’d like to think it would, but anytime there is a market, people rush into it. And there’s going to be the biggest market in the United States—illegal alcohol. Every petty crook and gang warlord will be fighting for their share of it.”
The two sat there talking for some time, and then Gail put the paper aside and said, “How is James working out as your assistant?”
“He’s doing fine. He has a quick mind. I don’t think I ever saw anyone quicker.” He frowned then and said, “But he’s a strange young man. It’s like he was born the day he came to our door.”
“What do you mean by that, Aaron?”
“I mean he has no past. He never talks about his childhood or his youth, about what he did before he went into the army.”
“Well, he had a hard life from what I understand.”
“Yes, he did. He was thrown into an orphanage, and a hard experience like that can be terrible. Not all of them, of course, but he never talks about those days. I’ve tried to get him to open up, but Emily says his childhood memories are so painful he just doesn’t like to talk about them at all.”
“He’s gotten very close to Wes.”
“Yes, he has.” Gail nodded. “And that’s a good thing. Wes needs encouragement.”
“I’ll agree with that, but James and Emily are together almost constantly. Going to ball games, movies. They’ve been out hunting a couple of times. Have you ever thought something might come of this?”
Gail gave him a startled look. “You mean like they’d be drawn together?”
“They are drawn together. I’m talking about if she falls in love with him. What would you think of that?”
“What would you think?” Gail countered.
“I don’t know,” Aaron said heavily. “We know so little about him.”
“Well, Emily’s too young to make that kind of a choice.”
“You don’t really think that. When you were her age you were already married!”
“Yes, I guess I was at that,” Gail said, smiling. “I just have a hard time thinking of my little girl as that grown-up already.” Then she shook her head. “I don’t know. I like James, but I hope they don’t rush into anything.”
****
“Look, Dad, have you seen this story in the paper?” Aaron looked at the newspaper Emily held up to him and read the caption aloud. “Gypsy Smith Holds Meeting in Evansville.”
“No, I haven’t seen that.”
“The meeting starts tonight. I’d love to hear him.”
“He’s a fine preacher. I’ve read a little about him. He’s a real gypsy from all I can pick up.”
“Yes, he’s giving his testimony tonight—the first night of the meeting. Could we all go?”
“Your mother and I have to go to a committee meeting at church tonight.”
Emily said quickly, “Would it be all right if James and I and Wes go?”
“I suppose so. We could have the Donovans pick us up. They’ll be at our meeting, but the weather’s pretty bad. It’s already snowed a little, and the forecast says there’s more coming.”
“Well, I think we’ll be all right,” Emily said, “if we can use the car.”
“All right,” Aaron said reluctantly. “But not if the weather gets any worse.”
****
James pulled the car up next to the curb, and when Emily got out he slid across the seat and followed her out. “It looks like they could put a door on the left-hand side. Ford’s a smart man, but I don’t think he thought this thing through.”
“Oh, don’t be so fussy!” Emily teased. “At least we didn’t have to ride in a wagon like my grandmother did. She told me that she and Grandfather Davis went to many a meeting in a buggy.”
“They were pioneer stock,” James said as he walked beside her. “We’re much weaker than they were.” Then he added, “I admire your grandmother. She’s not only a beautiful woman, but I can tell that she’s tough.”
“I guess all the Winslows have been tough except us modern generation. We’re softies.”
Wes had not been able to come, as he had a meeting at school. Now as the two walked along, they leaned into the wind. Dark had fallen and the snow was coming down harder. They joined the people who were headed toward the church, but James shook his head. “This weather is getting pretty bad, Emily. Don’t you think may
be we should turn around and go back?”
“Oh, don’t be such a worrywart!” Emily said. Her eyes sparkled, and she took his arm. “Come on. I wouldn’t miss hearing Gypsy Smith for anything.”
The two went inside the church, and a smiling usher took them to a seat midway up. “I wish we could go up closer,” Emily said. “I like to get close enough to see everything.”
“Well, we can see just fine from right here,” James said. “And from the way this crowd’s filing in, we were lucky to get a seat at all.”
Fifteen minutes later the service started. A song leader led the congregation in several hymns, and then he introduced Gypsy Smith. Smith was a stocky man of an indeterminate age. He could have been thirty or sixty. His hair was black, and he had a swarthy complexion and a pair of soulful brown eyes. With his ready smile, he announced, “Before I preach I’d like to sing for you.” He nodded at the pianist and the organist, and as they began to play he lifted his voice. He had a beautiful baritone voice that filled the auditorium.
James leaned over and whispered, “If he preaches as well as he sings, he’ll be something.”
Indeed, the famous evangelist did preach as well as he sang. He had a warmth and a genuineness about him that drew the whole congregation. He spoke of how as a young boy he had been one of the numerous gypsies wandering around England in wagons. He did not minimize the hardships of that life but laid it out so dramatically that both Emily and James felt sympathy toward him. He went on to tell how he had been converted and had given his life to Jesus. “Since that time,” he said, “I have attempted to preach the Gospel of Jesus, and I have done so around the world.”
James was moved by the evangelist’s testimony, after which Gypsy Smith announced his text—John 3:16. With a big smile, he said, “I’m sure that everyone in this building memorized that verse as a child. It was the first verse I ever memorized, and I’ve always called it the gospel in miniature. My prayer always is to make the gospel so simple that even a small child can understand it.”
And, true to his word, Gypsy kept the sermon simple. He spoke of the need in everyone’s heart for a Savior. He quoted scripture after scripture from the Old and New Testaments, stressing the sinfulness of man and every human being’s need for God.
“I need not convince you that everyone in the world is a sinner, I’m sure, but somehow,” Smith said earnestly, “we have the idea that there are big sins and little sins. But the book of James tells us that, ‘Whosoever shall keep the whole law yet offend in one point, the same is guilty of all.’ Do you see what that means? We think that murder is a much worse sin than gossip or telling a lie, but according to God, they are both offenses against His law, and we become offenders whether we commit murder or adultery, or tell what we think is a harmless lie. Jesus came because all of us have offended God the Father. He became a baby born in a manger and grew up to become the Lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world.”
For some time James Parker sat there listening to the simple message, and he could not help but feel that the words were directed to him. He was not aware that Emily was covertly watching him. So engrossed was he in the message of the evangelist that he forgot her completely.
As for Emily, she had never heard a man imbued with the power of God more than Gypsy Smith. As she looked around the congregation, she saw that every individual there seemed to be riveted to their seats listening to Smith’s stirring words. This man has the power of the Holy Ghost, she thought, and she uttered up a prayer for James. She knew that he needed God desperately, although he would not admit to that.
Gypsy Smith went on. “We’ve talked about man’s need for salvation. Now I invite you to look on Jesus. He is God’s answer to man’s offenses.” He went on then to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ in glowing terms. He had a poetic turn of mind, this Gypsy Smith, and Emily and James sat entranced.
Finally the evangelist ended his sermon in the customary way. “We give an invitation, but it isn’t our invitation. It’s not mine, and it’s not the invitation of this church,” he said softly but with a powerful intensity. “The invitation comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is very simple. He said, ‘Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ If you are here this evening with a heavy heart, if you have a guilty secret, if you have a sin that has put you in bondage, and you’re unable to break it—I hold up the Lord Jesus. No matter what the sin or what the bondage, He is stronger than all. You can’t break it. You can’t escape. You’ve already tried, haven’t you? But Jesus can. He broke the bonds of death and came out of the tomb, and now He invites everyone who is tired and weary and sick to come that he may set you free from all of it. As we sing, will you come and give your heart and soul and body to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The organist played the familiar hymn “Just As I Am” as the congregation stood and joined in. Emily was aware that James was as rigid as a ramrod. She turned to him and saw that his face was contorted with tension, and she prayed, Oh, God, move on his heart!
After several verses were sung and many went forward to give their hearts to Christ, Emily said, “James, would you like me to go with you to speak with Brother Smith?”
James did not answer. She could see that his teeth were clenched, and he was staring down at his feet.
“Not now,” he muttered.
Emily knew she could say no more.
The service ended, and the two made their way outside. James had not said a word, and after he cranked the car and jumped inside, Emily got in beside him and shut the door. He peered out through the windshield and shook his head. “We shouldn’t have stayed,” he said briefly. “The road is going to be terrible. I don’t even know if we can see it.”
“It’s only fifteen miles.”
James did not answer but pulled the car out into the street.
The snow was coming down in flakes as large as quarters, and as they made their way along the road, both peered out anxiously, for it was getting difficult to see. No traffic was out, and Emily was getting worried. “You may have been right, James. This is terrible!”
They moved on as fast as James dared drive, and after a while he said, “We must be halfway there, but it’s getting even worse, I think. I can barely see the road.”
Five minutes after he spoke, the road took a turn, but the snow was blowing so hard that he missed it. Emily let out a small cry as the Ford skidded, and then the whole car shuddered as the wheels went into a deep rut at the edge of the road.
James tried to gun his way out of it, but both right wheels were stuck in a deep trench. He shut the engine off and the two sat there in the darkness.
“Well, we’re in for it now,” he said tersely.
“What can we do?”
“We can sit here and wait until a car comes along. Then we can find a farmer who can pull us out with a team or, even better, a tractor.”
The two huddled closer as the cold settled in. Emily felt terrible. “This was all my doing,” she said.
Turning to her, James said, “I wanted to come, too. We’ll get out of this jam. I’ve been in lots worse, but I think we might as well try to walk it. Nobody’s going to be out driving on this road tonight unless they have to.”
The two of them got out, and instantly their feet broke through the snow. “We’re not exactly dressed for this,” James said. “Come on. We’ll do the best we can.”
The two walked carefully along the road. Once Emily stumbled, and James reached out and caught her arm. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I stepped in a hole. It’s a good thing I have on lace-up shoes, or I would have lost them both by now.”
“My feet are wet and yours are, too. We’re gonna freeze out here. It must be close to zero.”
The snow was still falling, although not so heavily now. The flakes came down in long, slanting lines, carpeting the earth with a pristine layer of white that gave a ghostly aspect to the landscape. The cloud cover was beginning
to break up enough to allow the full moon to peek through at times, and by that light Emily could see the trees sculpted into beautiful snowy forms.
The beauty, however, was lost on her, for the cold struck like a blow as they staggered along the highway, stepping in ruts and chug holes.
“Look. I think there’s a house over there.”
“There are no lights in it,” Emily hesitated. “They’ve probably all gone to bed.”
“We’ll have to wake them up, then. We’ve got to have help. We can’t stay out in this weather. We’ll freeze to death.”
The two turned off the main road and followed a twisting lane that seemed to meander aimlessly, eventually coming to a stop in front of a two-story frame house. The snow was several inches deep now, and as they stepped onto the wraparound porch, Emily sighed with relief. She waited while James banged on the door. They both waited, but there was no sound. He tried several times and then turned to her. His face was tense. “Nobody’s home. It may be a deserted house.”
“What’ll we do now?” Emily asked.
“We’ve got to find some shelter from this weather soon.” James walked to the edge of the porch, looked around, and said, “There’s a barn back there. We can get in there. I wish we had brought some blankets from the car.”
They made their way, breaking through the crust of snow. When they reached the barn, James had some trouble opening the door, for it was blocked with a drift nearly a foot deep. He leaned his weight against it and managed to wedge it open enough so they could squeeze through. James pulled a box of matches from his inside pocket. He struck one and held it up in the darkness. By the feeble yellow that emanated from the single match, he walked around until he spotted what he was looking for. “Bingo. Here’s a lantern. I hope it’s got oil in it.”
Emily watched while he fumbled with the lantern and heard his grunt of satisfaction. “There,” he said. “That’ll help a little bit.”
He hung the lantern back up on the nail and blew the match out. He held it until it was cold and then dropped it in his pocket. Looking around, he said, “I think that people still live here. This barn’s not deserted.”
The Amazon Quest (House of Winslow Book #25) Page 13
